SEHE Chapter 71.4

“How much time is left?”

“Less than a quarter hour.”

“It won’t be a draw, will it?”

“A draw would still be fine. Haven’t you seen that surnamed Qi? He already looks like he wants to eat someone.”

“General Peng and the others look like their stamina is failing.”

The hearts of those present tightened again.

On the field, Qi Lan showed no discouragement at the consecutive lost balls. At most it was only a tie—there was still a quarter hour left, enough time for him to score another ball.

Though he regretted not winning with crushing dominance, one more ball was still victory.

“I’ve seen through your tricks,” Qi Lan’s eyes flashed with the light of certain victory.

“I’ve also seen through your team’s weakness.” He said to Pei Yanci, striking the ball under his mallet toward Sun Mao’s direction.

From the moment Pei Yanci began commanding them, only three people on the opposing side had been exhaustingly scrambling about. Though the remaining person was also defending and blocking their attacks everywhere, dragging down one or two people, his movements were consistently passive.

In other words, this person’s heart wasn’t aligned with theirs.

Things changed in an instant on the polo field. He had pondered and observed for a long time before discovering this clue.

Qi Lan’s eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a cruel smile toward Pei Yanci.

Pei Yanci also smiled slightly at him and shouted, “General Peng!”

At the critical moment, Peng Chulang intercepted the ball earlier than Qi Lan’s teammates. With one strike, it landed steadily in the goal hole.

“Time’s up——“

An earth-shaking gong sounded. Only then did everyone return to their senses from that final strike.

Qi Lan sat frozen on his horse, gazing at the ball bouncing up and down twice in the net behind the goal hole.

His mind was full of disbelief.

Pei Yanci rode the date-red horse, leisurely passing before him. Seeing him look over as he came to his senses, Pei Yanci’s eyes narrowed slightly. He carelessly curled his lips, revealing a provocative shallow smile.

Qi Lan raised the mallet in his hand and swung it toward him.

At the critical moment, reason returned to his mind. The mallet forcibly stopped beside Pei Yanci’s ear.

The wind after the Dragon Boat Festival swept past. The stray hairs at Pei Yanci’s forehead lifted, gently caressing the scar-covered and mottled mallet shaft.

“Lan’er!” The Emperor shouted sternly. “Don’t be presumptuous!”

That authoritative shout was enough to silence everyone in the field.

Qi Lan’s nostrils flared. Unwillingly and reluctantly, he withdrew his hand.

Pei Yanci smiled leisurely and turned his horse to leave.

Qi Lan watched the solitary, thin figure on the date-red horse with sinister eyes, then fiercely threw his mallet on the ground.

****

Jiangwu Pavilion was filled with cheerful voices and laughter.

As an inner attendant called out, “Your Majesty, the four victors have arrived,” the surrounding chatter gradually ceased.

Pei Yanci walked at the front, leading the three teammates with heads held high into Jiangwu Pavilion.

Gu Jiuqing looked at him with relief. Though his face remained cold and sharp, his heart was already surging with countless thoughts.

That was his servant, his person. From this day forward, he would also become his male concubine, someone he must cherish well.

So this was how excellent he was—with so many facets. Wherever he was, it was like being bathed in ten thousand rays of light, making one unable to look away in amazement.

For a moment, the inferiority deep in his heart surged forth, nearly suffocating him with torment.

He thought of his identity as an abandoned son of the Cold Palace, thought of how he had been bullied by those people, powerless and without influence. Could he possess such a person who commanded the attention of all?

As the footsteps drew increasingly near, Pei Yanci’s indifferent gaze swept past Wang Lingche—sitting beside the Wang family head with eyes closed in meditation—past the Fifth Prince Gu Wanchong frowning in contemplation, past the alluring Gu Yueqian, past Qi Lan full of resentment and dissatisfaction, past Prime Minister Zheng, Prime Minister Cui, past Gu Jiuqing beside the Empress on the right. His gaze paused slightly on Tang Xizhui on the left, smiling faintly, before finally looking toward the center—Great Yu’s supreme ruler.

The Emperor, Gu Hongyu.

Tang Xizhui and Gu Jiuqing, watching him glance in their direction, felt their hearts skip a beat.

For an instant, they both had the same feeling.

The bird they had held in their hands to play with was about to fly free from their grasp.

“We pay respects to Your Majesty.” Pei Yanci and the other three knelt in unison.

“No need for ceremony. Rise.” The Emperor was in excellent spirits, unable to suppress his smile. “This year you’ve won the championship. Speak—what reward do you want?”

All three looked toward Pei Yanci.

Until he spoke, they would not speak.

“Your Majesty, this humble one has one matter to request.” Pei Yanci said neither humbly nor arrogantly. “This humble one is an official slave in the Crown Prince’s mansion. I’ve heard from others that my family passed away when I was young. Now I’m all alone, and not long ago I lost my memory from injury, completely forgetting my background.”

“You wish to recover your background?”

“No, Your Majesty. This humble one wishes to request Your Majesty’s grace to restore me to commoner status.”

The Emperor fell silent for a moment.

Official slaves almost never had their slave status pardoned without their cases being overturned. So-called national enmity and family hatred—the destruction of an entire clan couldn’t possibly leave no resentment. Those in power also feared that if they gained commoner status, in the future they might change their appearance, gain political power, and—overturning the verdict being minor—seek revenge on those who had convicted them being major.

The Emperor glanced at Gu Jiuqing beside him. “You know the people in your household. Why did he suddenly lose his memory?”

Gu Jiuqing dared not conceal anything and replied anxiously, “Previously, the Elu Bureau was arresting scholars with radical rhetoric at Xiangqing Tavern. Unexpectedly, a fight broke out and this servant in your son’s household was mistakenly injured.”

Family members long dead, all alone, and having lost his memory—everything in Pei Yanci’s words conveyed one message: he had no threatening capability whatsoever.

“Today is a joyous day.” The Emperor said. He hadn’t felt this carefree in ages, hadn’t watched such an exhilarating polo match. He waved his hand. “A minor matter. Zhen will permit it. From this day forward, you are restored to commoner status.”

“Thank Your Majesty.” Pei Yanci knelt in gratitude. The burning pain in his palms and the piercing, bone-deep agony in his ankles had ultimately been worth it for this single pardon.

“This humble one has one more matter. Please grant Your Majesty’s consent.” Pei Yanci straightened, looking frankly at the Emperor. “This humble one knows that each victor may receive one reward. This humble one presumes—the other day on the polo field when the horses stampeded, I saved His Highness. May I request one more reward from Your Majesty?”

The Emperor laughed heartily. “Zhen likes your character! Very well—meritorious service deserves reward. What do you want?”

Before opening his mouth, Pei Yanci first glanced at Zheng Qinglai, then looked affectionately at Gu Jiuqing.

That single glance from Pei Yanci made Zheng Qinglai’s heart race wildly, his expression growing solemn.

This boy was up to something.

Whatever Pei Yanci was about to say regarding Gu Jiuqing would deal a heavy blow to his years of painstaking effort.

Suddenly, he noticed Pei Yanci’s slender white fingers adjusting the collar before his chest, as if trying unsuccessfully to cover something up.

Then Pei Yanci looked at him meaningfully and triumphantly.

He received the signal conveyed in this person’s eyes loud and clear.

You advised the Crown Prince to only grant me the title of male concubine. I’ll seek the position of secondary consort for myself—even principal male consort isn’t out of the question. After all, he and I have already consummated our relationship.

For an instant, he sensed a crisis.

This person’s self-important, earth-shattering love would push him, the Zheng family, the Empress, the Crown Prince, and even Pei Yanci himself into an irredeemable abyss.

Fool!

An utterly foolish fool!

“Your Majesty.” In a flash, Zheng Qinglai stepped forward from the side.

“Prime Minister Zheng, if you have something to say, wait until Zhen has finished bestowing rewards,” the Emperor said.

“Your Majesty, this son of the Pei family is a servant in His Highness the Crown Prince’s household. He’s always been as close as brothers with His Highness. Seeing him display such skill on the polo field today—he’s a great talent indeed. Today this minister also wishes to borrow some of Your Majesty’s lucky fortune and take him as an adopted son.”

“Ha ha, you old fox—you still won’t admit it! When it comes to recruiting talent, you’re the fastest to act. Now you’re even trying to snatch away the good seedling Zhen has taken a liking to!”

Zheng Qinglai hurriedly spoke in alarm, “Your Majesty, this minister absolutely wouldn’t dare…”

“Enough, it’s just a joke. You’re too cautious.” The Emperor was clearly very happy today and didn’t care at all. “You’ve gained a son. How could Zhen have any reason to obstruct that? This can count as an additional joy for Pei Qing.”

(TL: 卿 (qīng) is an imperial form of address used by the emperor when speaking to officials or trusted courtiers.)

“Thank Your Majesty, thank…” Pei Yanci smiled at Zheng Qinglai, “Adoptive Father.”

The smile at the corner of Zheng Qinglai’s mouth froze.

Only at this moment did he realize he’d been played.

What Pei Yanci wanted was never simply to restore his commoner status—that would still leave him as a nobody, starting everything from scratch. How could he possibly be content with that?

What he schemed for was the identity of an aristocratic family son.

Gu Jiuqing forced him to become a male concubine. If he lost this opportunity at the Dragon Boat Festival, he would be forever trapped in the back courtyard’s small world.

Tang Xizhui offered cooperation using a false identity in exchange—but as long as he used that false identity for even one day, he would be controlled by Tang Xizhui for that day, forever beneath him.

Two choices that seemed good for him—how could they compare to making his own choice?

Tang Xizhui still wore his bright red robes, sitting below the imperial throne, his expression inscrutable.

His deathly pale fingertips gently rubbed together, as if feeling the broken kite string he once held in his hand, or as if savoring the last lingering breath of the bird that had already escaped its cage.

———-

In the fifth year of Qingning, on the eighth day of the fifth month, Emperor Pei Yanci of Great Tao suddenly appeared before the eyes of the world. Due to his success in the polo competition, the Emperor of Great Yu initially granted him an idle position at the Imperial Academy… From this day forward, Great Yu’s prosperous dream was shattered. A dynasty of over two hundred years began walking toward its end, gestating from its rotting, decaying corpse an even more magnificent golden age.

——[A Study of Great Tao’s Dream Beginning]

****

Below the palace steps, Pei Yanci sat there, carefully tearing away the gauze from his palms.

The previous scabs had long since been worn through. In the confrontations of subsequent matches, the wounds had festered even more severely, flowing blood and yellow pus that dried repeatedly. After such cycles, the gauze on his hands had long adhered to the wounds.

As he peeled away the gauze, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow in pain.

After saying such words in Jiangwu Pavilion, for the moment he had nowhere to go.

He didn’t know where Wuli had gone either—even fetching wound medicine was taking so long.

As he complained inwardly, from the corner of his eye he suddenly caught a flash of red.

Slowly raising his head, a figure had silently drifted before his eyes.

“Go ahead and be stubborn.” A voice full of lingering resentment yet helpless indulgence sounded.

That person took his hand and, like tending to an injured small beast, licked clean the foul blood on his hand.